Breast pump



May 22, 1928.

W. COLBY BREAST PUMP Filed Nov. 5, 1926 Patented May 22, 1928.

unrr woonann corn or srrauL, MINNESOT tear runes/r rump.

Application fiieaitovembr s, 1926. Serial no 145,968.-

. is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to cleanse and highly eiiicient inoperation.

Heretofore, breast pumps have been provided with means forv creating acontinuous suction and for periodically interruptingthe suction but asfar as I am aware all of such devices are so constructed that upon therelief or cessation of the suction, a substantial volume of airisadmitted to the apparatus and this relatively large volume of air mustbe withdrawn before thev suction can again be established in the bellmouth or milk receiving element. Obviously, the rateof withdrawal of themilk is dependent upon frequency of the suction impulses. Thus, the oldtype of apparatus isslow in operation unless the means for withdrawingthe air is adapted to operate very rapidly. Rapid withdrawal of the airis apt to createexcessive suction to the dis comfort or injury ofthepatient and further requires relatively expensive suction appa ratus.

In the present invention, 1 provide means whereby only a smallamountof'air is necessarily admitted tointerrupt the suction,

and the pulsations are created directly in the bell mouth tube withoutmaterially intere rupting the vacuum in the milk receptacle or suctiontube. V

The invention will be best'understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawingin which Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved breast pumpin its preferred form; Fig. 2 is a central vertical section through thepump and Fig. 3 is a central, vertical section through an alternateformofimouth and throat piece. p g

The pump has a receptacle or bottle a into which the milk is drawn by a.partial vacuum maintained therein. A. conduit for withdrawing air fromthe receptacle consists of a rigid pipe 5, extending through aperforated stopper 6 in the top of the receptacle l tube 5 with asuitable suction element;

and. connected by a flexible As illustrated in 1, this suction element.1

isindicated by the numeral 8 and consists of a valved pipe projectingfrom the wall. Such suctionelements may be provided in hospitals orother buildings. in the several rooms where the pumps areneeded, acommon pump of any suitable design being rovided for all of the wallopenings. I ny means. for producing a suction-"may,-.of course, besubstituted for the element 8. Such means might consist of the ater0perated device of the kind shown inmy co-I pending. application forpatent, Serial No. 49,107, filed August 8, 1925, for breast pumps or ina portablemotor driven pump.

The'stopper 6 is also perforated to receive,

the throat tube 9 of a mouthpiece 10, adapt1- ed to-cap the nipple andadjacent portion of the breast in the usual manner. Cominunicating withthe' small end of the mouth piece 10. in the preferred construction,isfa small tube 11 having its open end 12, .adja cent to the outer orflaring periphery of said mouthpiece. I v in Fig. 1, the breast13, whichisinserted in Asindicated .in dotted. lines a the bell mouth 10,normally coversthe open end 12 of the tube 11, but may bereadilydepressed or indented to uncovertheend of said tube when is desiredto.interrupt the vacuum in the throatconnected to the mouth piece. a At thenormally lower'end of the throat 9,1- restrict said throat by m eans ofaremovable stopper 14;.having a small'opening'15 through it for thewithdrawal of the milk from the throat, .This stopper 14 is preferablyconstructed from rubber and may be readily removed,v toprinitcleansing-of the throat 9. ..It willbenotedthatthe throat 9'is straightto the junction ofthe tube 11 and saidtube also? extends in a. straightline from its outer end-12, forming an anglewith the throat 9. Thisarrangement facilitates the insertion of a swab or brush for cleaningthe device.

In the alternate form of mydeviceshown in 3, I omit the tube 11 andextend the neck 9 upward above the small end ofthe month piece 10. Anopening 16 in the upper end of. the projection is. provided to interruptthe suction and maybe coveredwith the finger of the operatorto.producethe'de-' sired pulsations. l I p j The operation of my device will nowbe readily understood. When the tube '7 is connected'toa suitablesuction pum'pand the bell meuthit) is applied. ts treat, a p r with thepresent invention.

I ing at least a partial vacuum in sai tial vacuum will be created inthe receptacle 4 and in the throat tube 9 communicating with the bellshaped mouth near the nipple. With the preferred formof my device, the

suction thus produced may be readily interrupted by indenting the breast13 adjacent to the opening 12 in the tube '11 without withdrawing thenipple. At each opening of said tube, a small amount of air is admitaseal which prevents thepassage of the air from said throat into thereceptacle 4. Thus, the vacuum in the receptacle 4 is substantiallyunaffected by the pulsations prov duced in the throat and mouth, andeither a large or, small receptacle 4 may be used Nor is the vacuum inthe tube. 7 affected by pulsations of air in the bell shaped mouth 10.Therefore, an unusually long tube leading to the suction element may beused with this invention, if desired.

\Vith the alternate form of device shown in Fig. 3, the ap lication'ofany convenient cover, such as a f xger of the operator to the opening16, makes it possible to produce the desired vacuum in the mouth 10 andthroat 9, a'nd thisvacuum may be interrupted by the removal of the coverat any desired frequency. As only a small amount of air is admitted foreach interruption of the suction, it will be evident that a relativelyslow acting'andinexpensive suction pump may be supplied with my improveddevice to pro duce satisfactory results. It will be obvious that meansother than the stopper 14 may be provided for restricting the throattube 9. The lower-end or other portion of said throat tube mayibereduced by drawing the side walls inward. As the throat tube ispreferably constructed from glass, such alternate form of restrictionmaybe provided without difficulty or added expense. However, I preferremovable restricting means which facilitate cleansing the throat.

Having described my invention what I claim as ne'w and desire to protectbyLetters Patent is:

1. In a breast pump the combination with a receptacle for milk and meansfor roducd receptacle, of a throat communicating with said receptacle,an enlarged mouth for application to a breast, communicating with saidthroat, means adapted to permit interrupting the vacuum in said mouthand means for restricting the passage of air between said mouth andreceptacle whereby intermittent suction may be applied to the breastwithout interrupting thevacuum in said receptacle. I

2. In a breast pump the combination with a receptacle for milk and meansfor producing a partial vacuum in said receptacle,'of a throatcommunicating with said receptacle, bell shaped mouth forapplication tothe breast, communicating with said throat, means for restrlcting theflow through SELld.

throat, and means adapted to permit interruption of the vacuum directlyin said mouth whereby intermittent suction may be applied in said mouthwithout materially affecting the vacuum in said receptacle.

3. In a breast pump the combination with v a receptacle for milk andmeans for producing a partial vacuum 1n sald receptacle, of a throatcommunicating withsaid receptacle,

an enlarged mouth for application to the breast, communicating with saidthroat, a

perforated stopper restricting the lower end of said throat and meansforinterrupting the vacuum directly in said mouth whereby intermittentsuction may be applied to the breast without materially affecting" thevacuum in saidireceptacle.

4. In a breast pump the combination with a receptacle for milk and meansfor creating a partial vacuum in said receptacle, of a bell shaped mouthand throat therefor communicating with said receptacle and a vacuumre'lief tube communicating at its inner end with the smaller end 'of-'said mouth and at'its outer end near the larger end of. saidmouth,said'tube being adapted to be closed at its outer end by a breastinserted in said bell shaped mouth.

5. In a breast pump the combination with a receptacle for milk and meansfor creating a partial vacuum in said receptacle, of a closure for thetop of said receptacle having a perforation, a tubular member extendingthrough said perforation and communicab' ing with said receptacle, anenlarged mouth on said member adapted to cap abreast, a

vacuum relief tube communicating at its ducing at least a partial vacuumin said receptacle. of a tubular member extending downward into saidreceptacle and communicating therewith, an enlarged mouth forapplication to a breast, communicating with the upper end of saidmember, said mouth having an opening near the upper end of said member,adapted to permit interrupting the vacuum in said mouth and means forrestricting the passage of air between said mouth and receptacle,whereby intermittent suction may be applied to the breast withoutentirely eliminating the Vacuum in said receptacle.

7 In a breast pump the combination with a receptacle for milk, of atubular member extended downward into said receptacle and communicatingtherewith at its lower end, an enlarged mouth for application to abreast on the upper end of said member, means for creating a partialvacuum in said mouth, means connected with said mouth having an openingto permit interruption of the vacuum in said mouth and means forrestricting the passage between said mouth and receptacle, whereby whensuction is created in said mouth, milk is drawn from the breast andallowed toaccumulate above said restricting means, said milk beingsubsequently expelled from said member upon interruption of the suction.

the upper end of said member, means for creating a partial vacuum insaid mouth and tubular member, means connected with said mouth and.having an opening to permit interrupting the vacuum in said mouth andmeans carried upon the lower end of said member for restricting thepassage between said member and receptacle, whereby when suction iscreated in saidbmouth, milk is drawn from the breast and allowed toaccumulate above said restricting means, said milk being subsequentlyexpelled from said member upon interruption of the vacuum in said mouthand member.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to thisspecification.

WOODARD COLBY.

